Cranberry Orange Sweet Rolls

If you’re looking for something new to add to your Christmas morning brunch or if you want something to take to a neighbour during the holiday season then this is it. These sweet buns taste like the holidays but are a nice alternative to the usual cinnamon and ginger flavours. They aren’t staying in my ‘holidays only’ recipe box however because I think these would be fab at any time of the year!

This recipe starts with a sweet brioche dough. Brioche includes eggs and butter for a rich, tender dough that is perfect for sweet rolls or dinner buns. It rises well and tastes heavenly on it’s own, never mind with orange and cranberry added in!

After your dough has risen on the counter, roll it out to about a 10×14 size rectangle that’s about a half inch thick. The filling is then layered in before rolling it up and slicing.

Roll up these gorgeous buns and place them in a 9×13 glass baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick spray for their second rise. Most brioche recipes call for refrigerating the dough first before rolling and forming the buns. I didn’t do that and I had no problems with how these turned out. If you wanted to though, you could refrigerate the dough overnight before rolling, assembling and allowing the second rise in the morning. This would be a great tactic for getting these on the table for Christmas.

I glazed these with a simple icing sugar glaze but you can leave them bare – they’re sweet enough to do so. It’s up to you. These sweet cranberry and orange rolls are amazing when they’re still a little warm and perfect to put on your brunch table for Christmas morning. They’re a nice alternative to the standard cinnamon bun!

Cranberry Orange Sweet Rolls

Yield: 12

Prep Time: 2 hours25 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours40 minutes

A nice holiday alternative to the usual cinnamon bun.

Ingredients

Dough

2¼ tsp active dry yeast

1 cup warm milk

½ cup granulated sugar

4 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

⅓ cup softened butter

2 eggs

Filling

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 large navel orange, zested and juiced

2 tbsp butter

Glaze

1 1/2 cups powdered icing sugar

1/4 cup cream or milk

1 tbsp orange juice

Instructions

Dough

Fit your stand mixer with a dough hook

Add your yeast to the milk, stir and set aside. If your milk is cold from the fridge, zap it for 30 seconds or so in your microwave before you add the yeast.

Add the sugar, flour and salt to the bowl of your stand mixer and stir to incorporate. Add the eggs, butter and yeast mixture. Stir on low until incorporated and then turn the machine up to med/high to knead the dough. Allow it to run about 5 min until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and makes a ball on your hook. If the dough sticks to the sides and does not leave a clean bowl, sprinkle in some more flour about a tbsp at a time until it comes together. If the dough is dry and does not form a ball, add a tbsp of milk at a time until it comes together.

Remove the dough to your counter top and knead by hand to form into a nice round ball. Cover in a bowl and allow to rise on your counter 1 -2 hours or until doubled in size. If you wanted to bake these in the morning put your dough into the fridge overnight. Otherwise continue by making the filling.

Filling

Add all filling ingredients to a small pot and cook over medium heat until the butter and sugar has melted. Allow to bubble for 3-5 min but stir well as you do so. Set aside to cool.

Assembly

After your dough has risen, roll it out on a floured surface to about a 10x14" size that is about a half inch thick. Spoon your filling over the dough, reserving 3-4 table spoons of liquid in the pot.

Roll into a log and slice 12 buns. Carefully transfer sliced buns to a prepared pan and pour the remaining filling liquid over the top. Allow a second rise until the buns are at the top of the pan - about 45 min to an hour. Bake at 400 for 13-15 min.

Glaze

Whisk glaze ingredients in a small bowl and pour over the top of the mostly cooled buns. Serve.

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